Misato Ugaki Hosts, Sakurazaka46 Appears as Special Guests: The Inaugural 'AnimeJapan New Creator Award 2026' Held!

AnimeJapan, as part of a project commissioned by the Japan Arts Council under the Agency for Cultural Affairs' fund for strengthening the foundation of cultural and artistic activities, has established the 'New Creator Award,' a short animation competition for students. The inaugural awards ceremony was held on the BLUE STAGE at AnimeJapan 2026. This award was created to support the challenges of young creators and foster talent that will play an active role on the world stage in the future.

The ceremony was hosted by Misato Ugaki, with Sakurazaka46 members Rina Matsuda, Hikaru Morita, Aki Taniguchi, Yuzuki Nakajima, and Mio Matono appearing as special guests. Awards were presented across categories including Technical, Direction, Character, Art, Crunchyroll, Grand Prix, and the AnimeJapan Special Award. The winning works will be distributed to over 200 countries and regions via platforms such as Crunchyroll, d Anime Store, Niconico Live, and YouTube.

Official Report The ceremony featured Jury Chair Yuichiro Hayashi, along with judges Yuma Takahashi, Shuzo Kasahara, Katsuhiro Takei, and Naohiro Ogata. Emiko Iijima from Crunchyroll participated as a special collaborator, and AJ Official Ambassadors from Sakurazaka46 added glamour to the event.

Category winners included: Technical Award: 'Offbeat' (Kyoto Seika University); Direction Award: 'Requiem of the Eternal Night' (Kyoto Seika University); Character Award: 'Magokoro Musubi' (HAL Tokyo); and Art Award: 'Summer Traces' (HAL Osaka). Each winner received a trophy and 300,000 yen.

The Crunchyroll Award was presented to 'With This Town' (HAL Nagoya) by creators Raiki Murao and Aozora Imai, who received a trophy and a 1 million yen scholarship from Crunchyroll.

The Grand Prix was awarded to 'POLICE MEN' (Kyoto Seika University), with creators Yui Hara and Sumihiro Nomura receiving a trophy and 1 million yen. The work was highly praised as a 'talent that creates the future.'

The AnimeJapan Special Award was given to four works: 'With This Town' (HAL Nagoya), 'Summer Traces' (HAL Osaka), 'POLICE MEN' (Kyoto Seika University), and 'Live in Red' (Tokyo Polytechnic University). Winners are scheduled to be invited to 'Anime Expo 2026' in Los Angeles. Sakurazaka46's Rina Matsuda, acting as a presenter, remarked, 'Every work was incredibly captivating, conveying unique perspectives and the passion put into them. I felt the future possibilities of animation. I look forward to your future success and seeing your new works. Congratulations to you all.'